Tips on How to Make Some Extra Cash

As I mentioned in my profile, I do some odd online jobs in order to make some extra money for the family. These jobs are by no means a regular source of full time income, but the money adds up quickly to help pay for anything we might need. I have provided the links to the following websites below this article. Here are my tips:

CONSIGNMENT SALES: During the Fall and Spring, my local area has a ton of consignment sales. I register as a seller and tag all my kids clothing, toys, equipment, and accessories (feeding, shoes, blankets, etc.) and I sell them in these sales. They are my biggest profit, depending on what I am selling. It is split with 70% profit to me and 30% profit + registration fee to the sponsor. Of course, this split can be increased up to 85% for you and no registration fee if you volunteer an X amount of hours. Also, as a seller, you gain access to the sale before it is opened to the public. There are a ton of deals. Plus, as I have learned with babies, is that it is a waste of money to buy brand new things. For one, the baby doesn’t know the difference. Secondly, babies grow so fast and dirty up clothes and toys so easily, why spend $20 on a new outfit that’s going to see explosive diarrhea the next day?

KCS is a great website that will provide you with information on consignment sales in your area.

From KCS, go to your local consignment sale website to register as a seller. All information and contact numbers should be provided if you have any questions.

AMAZON mTURK: My next biggest income source is Amazon mTurk. The main thing I do is complete surveys for universities. The big money makers, other than surveys, is transcribing and writing articles. Basically, mTurk list “HITs”, Human Intelligent Tasks, for people like you and me to complete. Beware, there are scams on here, but they are pretty easy to spot. If it looks suspicious, like the English is poor and has bad grammar, or the pay is “too good to be true”, then stay away. Anyway, I try to shoot for $5 to $10 a day, so I can easily rack up $150 per month! This is great for stay at home parents or college students who need flexibility and want to work from home without major commitment. No contracts to sign, so you can work as little or as much as you want.

Also, do not waste your time with the 1 cent and 2 cent HITS. You want to shoot for at least 10 cents per minute so you can put an 1 hour of your time for basic minimum wage. The only reason I would do these 1 cent HITS is to increase my HITS approval rate. Some surveys require a certain threshold to meet such as “more than 50 HITS accepted”. If you are familiar with Reddit, there is a subreddit that posts the HITS worth taking. The link is provided below and the subreddit is called HitsWorthTurkingFor

Just click the tab “New” to see the newest HITS as they go by very quickly. If you are not familiar with Reddit, another trick is to type in “survey” or “study” or other keywords in the search box on mTurk, select “HITS you qualify for” and type in the denomination such as 0.25 or 1.00. Please, pay attention throughout the surveys as you can get rejected and not paid. Some “Requesters”, the people who submit the tasks, insert ACs, “Attention Checks”, which are questions they use to see if you are paying attention. They will reject you if you answer these incorrectly.

Note: You will need to provide tax information such as Social Security. You will not need to pay taxes until you reach a certain income level. This is hosted by Amazon. In my experience I have not had any problems.

eBay: My other big money making strategy is selling things on Ebay. Some stay at home parents can turn this into a full time business, but it takes a lot of effort, connections, or time to get to that potential. I bring in about an extra $100 a month from Ebay, so it is substantial, but by no means is it a full time paycheck. Plus, the fees add up quick, so you have to be careful. Another disadvantage is that Ebay is quite fickle. One week my items will be selling like crazy, then the next week, it is completely dead. Also, it can be difficult to start up as many buyers look to a seller’s feedback on whether to buy or not. So when you are starting out with 0 feedback, you will most likely have to find a competitive advantage to get yourself on the map. This could be selling an item at a severe discount compared to competitors or finding a niche, unique market to sell items. Men’s clothing, designer clothing, and accessories seem to be the best opportunities. It is also a nice way to clean out your closet and upgrade your clothing on a shopping spree!